Lesson 6 of 6
What to re-verify, and how to track it
9 min
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Agent interoperability is the fastest-moving topic in the SAP landscape. In twelve months MCP has had two major specification revisions, A2A reached 1.0, SAP published a new API Policy, and SAP's gateways went from announcement to documentation, with parts still on the roadmap. Anything you design today needs a list of assumptions and a date to check them. This lesson gives you that list as of October 17, 2026, and a way to keep it current.
Status board, October 2026
| Item | Status per SAP sources reviewed | Label in your design |
|---|---|---|
| Agent Gateway (inbound A2A to Joule Agents) | Architecture Center: not yet GA; bidirectional with third-party agents not yet supported | Not GA: target architecture only |
| Joule as A2A client (BYO agent) | Documented in Joule; A2A 0.3.0, text messages only | Available; check DTA schema version |
| MCP Gateway: MCP servers from API artifacts, OpenAPI endpoints, RFC back ends | Documented; depends on service plan (SAP Note 2903776) | Available where your plan includes it |
| MCP Gateway: remote MCP server as source (federation) | GA since September 20, 2026 (What's New: Connect to Remote MCP Servers) | Available where your plan includes it |
| MCP Gateway: principal propagation to back ends | GA since July 26, 2026 for on-premise MCP server flows (What's New) | Available; check the scope per source type |
| MCP Gateway: API composition, AI Gateway for LLM calls, monetization, integration agent step | Roadmap in the July 2026 update | Not GA |
| Claude in SAP Business AI Platform and Joule | Announced plan (May 2026), no dates | Announced only |
| A2A version | Spec 1.0 released; SAP's Joule docs specify 0.3.0 | Pin 0.3.0 for Joule; plan the upgrade |
| MCP version | Spec 2026-07-28 (stateless); Integration Suite supports 2025-11-25 and 2026-07-28 | Pin the revision per client |
| SAP API Policy | v.4.2026a in force; FAQ published; community debate on developer tooling | Record your interpretation and owner |
What to re-verify, with the label to use in designs and decks.
Two entries in that table pull in opposite directions, and both are worth understanding. The remote MCP server source shows how fast SAP moves: in July it was a roadmap bullet called MCP federation, and on September 20, 2026 What's New listed it as generally available, with documentation for destination types and the Streamable HTTP requirement. The Agent Gateway shows the opposite: it has a detailed reference architecture, a sequence of steps and an authentication model, yet the same page flags it as not yet generally available for third-party and self-hosted agents. Documentation depth alone doesn't tell you the status. Look for the explicit label, the service plan entry and, when in doubt, ask your SAP account team in writing and file the answer with the register entry.
Be equally careful with your own words. In steering committee decks, write "documented, plan-dependent" or "announced, not GA" next to every SAP component name, with the date you checked. Grace's decision group at Contoso now rejects any architecture slide that names an SAP AI component without a status label, which has ended a lot of arguments before they started.
How Contoso tracks it
Theo keeps an agent interoperability register in SAP Cloud ALM as a set of requirements tagged "AI-interop", one per assumption, each with an owner, a source link, a status label (GA, documented but plan-dependent, roadmap, announced) and a re-verify date. Every agent design references the register entries it depends on. When an entry changes, the dependent designs show up for review.
- MonthlyCheck SAP Integration Suite What's New, Joule release notes and the Architecture Center pages for agents and MCP.
- Per releaseRead the MCP and A2A changelogs; check which revision SAP documents.
- QuarterlyReread the SAP API Policy and FAQ; confirm interpretations with the SAP account team.
- After SAP TechEdFull review of the register; relabel announced items that reached GA.
- On changeUpdate dependent designs, rerun the agent sign-off checks and tests.
Signals that something is GA, and signals that it isn't
- GA signals: a help.sap.com product page with setup steps; a service plan entry or SAP Note naming the feature; a What's New entry labeled general availability; a Discovery Center entry with pricing.
- Not-yet-GA signals: "roadmap item" or an asterisk in a deck; "early adopter care" or "beta" labels; "not yet generally available" in the Architecture Center; a news article that says "plans to"; a demo without documentation.
- Community-only signals: trade press, user group questions and partner blogs. Useful for spotting issues; never enough to design on.
What would you do?
A steering committee slide from a partner says "Agent Gateway lets Copilot and Claude call Joule agents today." Grace asks Priya whether to include it in Contoso's architecture roadmap as available. What should Priya answer?
- Label every agent component as GA, plan-dependent, roadmap or announced, with a source and a re-verify date.
- As of October 2026: Agent Gateway not GA; MCP Gateway documented and plan-dependent; several MCP Gateway features roadmap; Claude integration announced.
- Pin protocol versions: A2A 0.3.0 for Joule, MCP 2025-11-25 or 2026-07-28 per client.
- Re-verify monthly, per protocol release, quarterly for the API Policy, and after every SAP TechEd.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. A feature appears in an SAP deck with an asterisk marked "roadmap item." How should a design label it?
2. Which A2A version does SAP's Joule documentation specify for code-based agents?
3. Which source is strongest evidence that an SAP agent feature is GA?
4. When should Contoso run a full review of its agent interoperability register?